Technical Field
This disclosure relates to a sheet conveying device, an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet conveying device, and an optional device incorporating the sheet conveying device and attached to the image forming apparatus.
Related Art
Various types of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses are known to include a sheet conveying device to convey a sheet one by one from a sheet containing device that accommodates multiple sheets therein to an image forming apparatus or to an image forming device.
A sheet conveying device includes a sheet feed roller and a separation pad. The sheet feed roller feeds sheets loaded on a sheet tray. The separation pad separates sheets one by one when multiple sheets of the sheets are fed. The sheet conveying device further includes a guide plate having a guide surface that can contact with a bottom face of the sheet across an entire area in a sheet width direction that is a direction perpendicular to a sheet conveying direction. The guide plate is disposed downstream from the separation pad and upstream from an image forming part in the sheet conveying direction. The sheet fed from the sheet tray by the sheet feed roller and separated by the separation pad is guided by the guide surface of the guide plate toward the image forming part.
In the configuration in which a sheet is separated by the separation pad and is guided by the guide surface of the guide plate disposed downstream from the separation pad in the sheet conveying direction, it is preferable that an upstream end of the guide surface is located lower than a downstream end of the separation pad so as to provide a difference in height between the separation pad and the guide plate. This configuration can prevent a leading end of the sheet after passing by the separation pad from contacting the guide plate to cause a failure of sheet conveyance.